The SUICA and ICOCA Cards are prepaid e-money cards that can be used for transportation and shopping (SUICA is sold by JR East and ICOCA is sold by JR West). Both cards work the same way, and can often be used interchangeably.
People Also Ask
Should you get the suica or pasmo or icoca?! In short, it really does not matter which one you get. Which one you get can be based on convenience. It will be dictated more by the first train station in Japan that you go to, and whether they are selling a suica card or pasmo card or icoca card!
The SUICA and ICOCA Cards are prepaid e-money cards that can be used for transportation and shopping (SUICA is sold by JR East and ICOCA is sold by JR West). Both cards work the same way, and can often be used interchangeably.
Suica is the prepaid IC card by JR East for JR trains in the Greater Tokyo, Niigata and Sendai regions. A special version of Suica, called Welcome Suica, is available to foreign tourists.
Each person needs one. Pasmo/Suica is read when touching the IC card reader upon entering and exiting a gate, and the correct fare is deducted from the card. The same card cannot be read entering twice at the same station. Thank you for the quick response.
The Suica card can be used in the majority of Japanese public transport: subways, buses and all local trains, as well as in buses and taxis displaying the Suica logo. Please note that the Suica card does not work on express trains, shinkansen, highway buses or airport shuttles.
The JR pass is only worth it if you travel through different cities, if you are just travelling to Tokyo to Kyoto for example, I would just pay on the Suica. You can do the online calculator or just use google to calculate which trip is easier - paying individually on Suica or getting a JR Pass.
Will a Suica card save me money over regular train tickets? Yes, but only a very little at a time. Within Tokyo, the fare for Suica (or any IC card) users is a couple of yen cheaper than the full fare price.